Undocumented migrants living in the United States can only be deported if they pose a threat to the security of the country, according to new directives from the immigration services announced Thursday, September 30. These measures, which de facto limit the risk of deportation for millions of people, will apply to those who arrived on American soil before November 1, 2020.
Read alsoIn Del Rio, Texas, Haitian migrants put the Biden Administration to the test
“The fact that an individual is a foreigner in a situation of deportation should not be the only basis” to apply the procedure, indicates the American Minister for Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas in the document sent to his services. It is estimated that more than 11 million illegal immigrants live in the United States and “We don’t have the resources to stop and deport everyone” of them, he explains. The majority of them “Have been contributing to society for years, there are people who were on the front line in the fight against Covid-19, they lead religious congregations, teach our children, do grueling agricultural work”, says Alejandro Mayorkas.
New DHS guidelines, which come into effect on November 29, prioritize deportations of foreigners with “Threat to national security”, such as terrorist or espionage activities, or those presenting a “Threat to public safety” because having committed crimes or serious offenses. For the latter, however, the authorities will have to take into account certain factors, such as their age, the length of their presence in the territory or the impact of their expulsion on their families.
Read alsoUnited States: photo of migrants hunted down by border guards on horseback sparks outrage
The new instructions come as the US government has faced an influx of migrants illegally crossing the border from Mexico for several months. More than 1.3 million have been arrested there since January. More than 30,000 migrants, mostly Haitians, found refuge in September under a bridge in the small town of Del Rio in Texas. About 2,000 people were deported by plane to Haiti, a move criticized by the left of the Democratic Party. Conversely, the Republican opposition accuses the president of having caused a “Call for air” by relaxing the migration policies of his predecessor Donald Trump.
– .
